The ballot wording is vague and misleading. It fails to even mention tax increment financing, transportation reinvestment zone, or even the the word ‘transportation’ on the ballot. However, it does reveal one of the purposes of the amendment which is to give the government more power to decide whose private property it wishes to “redevelop.” TRZs are as much about “economic development” as it is financing transportation projects, and means those who live in the zone will have their property taxes go up due to higher property values from the government-encouraged development.

The amendment is also linked to a state law, HB 563, authored by Rep. Joe Pickett. TRZs also allow local governments to use your property taxes to back bonds for transportation (or other) projects, WITHOUT COMING TO THE VOTERS. Property taxes aren’t going to go down once your county sells bonds dependent on ever increasing property tax appraisals.

STATE OUTSOURCING TAX INCREASES
TRZs are a way for STATE legislators to punt on their responsibility to build and maintain STATE highways and their responsibility to end diversions of the gas tax to non-road uses. It allows them to outsource tax increases for roads by passing it down to the LOCAL level. By using appraisal increases to pay for transportation projects, it takes that revenue away from what cities and counties usually use that money to fund. So it’s likely to necessitate further property tax increases in order to make up for the shortfall in city and county services that will be diverted to transportation.

TRZS CAN FUND TOLL PROJECTS
TRZs heist property tax appraisal increases within the designated zone to pay for transportation projects, including to build toll roads. Building a road with property tax and then charging drivers a toll to use the road is a DOUBLE TAX.

Also, in this legislation it states that any revenue collected in a TRZ that’s over and above the amount needed to cover the bond debt on transportation projects can be used as a slush fund for politicians, without ever having to come to the voters again. The boundaries of the zone can be amended at ANY time, also without the permission of the voters.

TAX BREAKS FOR THEIR BUDDIES
Counties can also elect to grant tax abatements to ANY property owners in the zone under Sec. 222.107 (h). Though the author of the bill says this is one of the only ways a county can impose a TRZ since it lacks ordinance authority, the consequences (though perhaps unintended) of this language are clear — a county can abate the taxes of favored commercial properties, say a Walmart or a hotel for instance, shifting the tax burden to other property owners in the zone.

SNAGS SALES TAX
Counties will also be able to snag (and possibly increase) sales taxes to fund transportation projects in the zone without coming to the voters.